I have a theoretical question. What do you think is the absolute fastest time possible for a human being in the 100 yard freestyle. One way I was looking at it was to start at 1.00 second and say, will anyone ever be able to swim it in 1.00 sec. No. Will anyone ever be able to swim it in 2.00 seconds. No...so on and so on. At what time do you stop and say, hmmm, maybe someday someone would be able to swim that fast.
It is amazing that times keep dropping. In the 50 yard free, for instance, that one guy broke 19 a couple years ago, then last year, 3 guys in the final heat at NCAAs did it. There's that psychological aspect too--like the first runner who broke the 4 minute mile (Jim Ryan?) opening it up as a possibility for the myriad sub-4 minute milers to come.
at some point, times won't be able to drop anymore. what's amazing to me is that we haven't reached that point yet. I think suit technology and better strokes and nutrition and training have all improved light years since Johnny Weismuller's day. Thanks to body suits and streamlining and lower head position, I was able--at age 49--to beat my own high school time in the 200 free. Still, it's hard to believe peak swimming improvement can continue much longer--even as it shows no sign of stopping. At some point, we've gotta hit the Tiger Woods of swimming (maybe it's Phelps?), and then there will necessarily be a lapse before the next Great One takes up swimming (as opposed to some sport that pays more handsomely).
It kind of makes you wonder if pharmaceutical assistance has entered the picture.
What's the difference between a Long Course and a Short Course?
Long Course = 50m pool (olympics)
Short Course = 25m pool
- most places in the US swim a 25 yard pool. There is no long course for yards.
I think the ultimate limit for this and any other athletic events will come down to physiology. Perhaps a physicist could calculate how much force would be required to launch a swimmer off the blocks, the walls, and power their arms through the water to swim a 20 sec. 100 yd. free. Can the skeletal structure of the body take that? For example to cover a 25 yd. distance in 5 seconds, how much power would have to be generated just off the blocks? Can a human bone handle that? Or would we need titanium body parts? Would that swimmer have to be able to squat 1000 lbs to do that?
At some point, we've gotta hit the Tiger Woods of swimming (maybe it's Phelps?), and then there will necessarily be a lapse before the next Great One takes up swimming (as opposed to some sport that pays more handsomely).
...Genetic engineering...
Jim it was not Ryan it was Roger Bannister I watched his race in 1954 The Miracle mile when for the first time 2 guys broke the 4 minute barrier in the same race, Roger Bannister and Australia's John Landy en.wikipedia.org/.../Roger_Bannister It is amazing that times keep dropping. In the 50 yard free, for instance, that one guy broke 19 a couple years ago, then last year, 3 guys in the final heat at NCAAs did it. There's that psychological aspect too--like the first runner who broke the 4 minute mile (Jim Ryan?) opening it up as a possibility for the myriad sub-4 minute milers to come.
at some point, times won't be able to drop anymore. what's amazing to me is that we haven't reached that point yet. I think suit technology and better strokes and nutrition and training have all improved light years since Johnny Weismuller's day. Thanks to body suits and streamlining and lower head position, I was able--at age 49--to beat my own high school time in the 200 free. Still, it's hard to believe peak swimming improvement can continue much longer--even as it shows no sign of stopping. At some point, we've gotta hit the Tiger Woods of swimming (maybe it's Phelps?), and then there will necessarily be a lapse before the next Great One takes up swimming (as opposed to some sport that pays more handsomely).
It kind of makes you wonder if pharmaceutical assistance has entered the picture.
